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These are the industries which seem to be recession-proof and saw improved sales and revenues in recent months.

The Professional Beauty Association says its main tracking indexes for the salon and spa industry all posted a rise in the fourth quarter of 2011, driven by stronger sales, traffic levels and a more optimistic outlook for the economy.

The Salon & Spa Performance Index, which is the main index of the three, is a quarterly composite index that tracks the health and outlook of the U.S. salon/spa industry. It rose 1% from the third quarter of 2011 to stand at 102.9 in the fourth quarter. A base level measurement of 100 is used, with values above considered positive.

The survey also showed 61% of salon/spa owners expect higher retail sales as compared to 7% that expect a decline.

“The salon and spa industry remains resilient. As with the broader economy, it is encouraging to see positive growth and expansion as indicated by the Salon & Spa Performance Index,” says Steve Sleeper, Executive Director of the Professional Beauty Association.

Gray & Farrar, a matchmaking agency for the wealthy (you can see their advert on How To Spend It or places like that), saw a 50 percent growth in international sales within the last 12 months.

It’s not for everyone — an annual membership is an investment of 15,000 pounds.

“The business has quadrupled within the last 2 years. As the banking industry has fallen into free-fall, the busier we have become as people re-evaluate their personal lives,” says Virginia Sweetingham, founder of Gray & Farrar.

“This trend is resonating across the globe; despite our office headquarters being in London, over 75% of our client portfolio is now international – a stark contrast to ten years ago, when the majority of our clients were UK based.”

The agency says they match two-thirds of their clients within the first 12 months.

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Since joining Reuters as a graduate trainee in 2000, Natsuko has reported on issues surrounding global financial markets, monetary policy and central banking from Tokyo, Singapore, London, Paris, Madrid, Davos, Dubai, Moscow and Istanbul. She won the Reuters best scoop of the year in 2007 for a story on China's foreign exchange reserves policy and was also given State Street\'s best journalist of the year award in the same year. Currently based in London, she covers global investment issues and sovereign wealth funds on the Investment Strategy Desk.